Thursday, February 07, 2008

I hardly ever drink hot chocolate. Usually it's too rich, and also filled with evil dairy. I remember my mom making yummy hot chocolate from scratch with soy milk, but I've never really put the time into figuring out how to replicate it. I guess I thought I just preferred my chocolate in solid form. Then, tonight, Ibarra changed everything.

I've know about Ibarra for years, as you can buy it in the market on Granville Island, and I've tried pretty much everything there is to try there. I'd snacked on it, but had never taken it through to its natural conclusion, hot chocolate. Even when I bought the box you see above last weekend, it was for a different purpose: ice cream. It made a really delicious ice cream, but as hot chocolate - oh my god.

Making it, I hesitated about whether or not to follow the directions. The tiny type on the bottom of the box said to heat milk (soy in this case) until hot and then blend it with the chocolate wedges in an electric blender. My instinct was that melting the chocolate into the milk while whisking it would make more sense. But I thought, what the hell, I'll try the blender. And I can now say, the blender is definitely the way to go. It produced the best hot chocolate I've ever had, frothy, creamy, totally heavenly without being rich. Ibarra is made of sugar, cocoa nibs and cinnamon – the warmth from the cinnamon is definitely a big part of this hot chocolate's dreamyness.

It was so incredible that halfway through the first sip I thought, I have to post about this! But then I couldn't stop drinking it. I tried but just kept gulping the delicious frothy... and by the time I grabbed the camera my cup was nearly empty. But I think you still get the idea. Now go to Granville Island and get some Ibarra!

3 comments:

gb
said...

Hi Meg,Have you tried Cocoa Camino organic hot chocolate? It comes in two types: dairy and non-dairy. You can also buy their cocoa for recipes and their chocolate bars--different kinds--are to die for. Just boil the kettle and pour into the hot chocolate powder, easy and really good but no cinammon. It would be a quick alternative. Of course the hot choc mix is so good you might be tempted to indulge while waiting for the kettle to boil.

H0T Chocolate indeed! Fabulous!I tried making this is my Bodum milk frother and it turned out very well. I just put a chunk of the chocolate in the bottom and stirred/broke up as the milk heated. I happened upon a recipe for Mexican hot chocolate that called for cinnamon AND a pinch of cayenne and cumin. I'm going to give it a try...For those of you not familiar with the Bodum milk frother it is amazing. I got it at Gourmet Warehouse for $13 and it is simple to use and milk froths up as well as any fancy machine.

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It all started with friendly Friday potlucks as beleaguered design students in search of a home-cooked meal, and upon graduation evolved into Wednesday Dinners, a mid-week refuge from work. After a few months we realized we were improving and had begun to think of food in new ways. We wanted to document these successes (and sometimes, failures) – and thus was born WeDine.

Here's how it works: each Wednesday, we discuss our current cravings, take inventory of what's on hand, meet at a market to gather fresh ingredients which will complete our improvised menu, and finally head home to cook together.

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